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February 2, 2012

Playlist: January 2012

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I still have some blank cds, so this playlist still conforms to the 80 minute time limit. It’s the stuff I listened to the most in January while hard at work. As always, the links are to YouTube videos. be sure to check out www.mppp.it for a free YouTube to mp3 conversion utility.

The National “Bloodbuzz, Ohio”

It took me some time to come around to this tune. If you’ve ever been to Ohio or met someone from Ohio, then you can relate to the sense of loss of self he is singing about. They’re crazy.

The Killers “Romeo & Juliet”

It’s not the original and while I would not put this cover above Dire Straits’ version, I do believe Brandon gives a better performance than Mark (yep, first names folks, I’m cool) about having had his guts ripped out by the girl, Juliet.

Neutral Milk Hotel “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”

I love this album. A bartender at a tough joint in Minneapolis recently said this was the greatest album of all time. That was shocking for many different reasons. I am really surprised that of all the songs on the album this song was listened to the most. “Holland, 1945″ is my favorite, but this track is exceptional despite its sentimentality.

Van Halen “Can’t Stop Loving You”  What can I say? I am a child of the 80s.

Arcade Fire “Intervention”

Vampire Weekend “Mansard Roof”

Pearl Jam “Jeremy”

Phoenix “Countdown”

Nirvana “Breed”

Talking Heads “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”

Deep Blue Something “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”  A Denton, TX band. The drummer, John Kirtland, used to be the student secretary in the (then Communications, but now Communication Studies) Department. I’m really cool.

Grateful Dead “Casey Jones”

MGMT “Pieces of What”

Presidents of the United States of America “Peaches”

Rick Springfield “Jessie’s Girl”

Silversun Pickups “Catch and Release”  I am adding song to The Playlist. You guessed it, I’m cool.

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers “American Girl”  Really? I’d say it is a guilty pleasure, but I am not too sure how much pleasure I get out of it. It’s one of those mediocre songs that I guess I can work to, so I don’t forward through it. Good thing I’m so cool because then I can afford the hit this song provides.

U2 “I Will Follow”  Another song I am not too keen on, but it has an inflated playcount because of all the time I spent around Crunkilton this month. He’s such a rule-following no-question-asking kid that I cannot not play it when on road trips. I will make him cool some day. He’s so lucky to have me in his life.

Kings of Leon “Fans”

 

 

 

 

 

January 15, 2012

Best Records of 2011

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I am only a few weeks tardy delivering this, which I take as a success. 2011 was a good year, there was some great stuff produced and most of my favorites are not from the big name groups or even labels. That makes me very happy. As usual the playlist is long enough to fit onto a 80 minute CD. That standard is slowly dying as even my driving is converting from CD powered listening to iPod based playback. Thankfully, radio is dead to me. There are some quality stations still around, but their need to fundraise swamps their uniqueness. If you want mp3s of these songs, then you can contact me or, better yet, learn about torrenting or, even better yet, visit www.mppp.it. Streaming music works too, because the musicians receive most of those moneys instead of the purchases which line the labels’ gold-hemmed pants.

1. Washed Out “Amor Fati” Within and Without

There is nothing to say about this track. It’s Moby at his best but without the melodrama.

2. Lydia Loveless “Learn To Say No” Indestructible Machine

This is the highest I have ever rated a country track and yet I have to ask, is it country? It’s not. It’s badass. She’s badass. I could devote many posts to Lydia or this album. I saw her when she came to Minneapolis and she was great.

3. Danger Mouse & Daniele Lupi “The Gambling Priest” Rome

Can we just now save some syllables and refer to Danger Mouse as Midas. Everything he touches. This album is the soundtrack to a non-existant movie, but set to the style of the old Ennio Morricone (think Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns). This album is amazing.

4. Raphael Saadiq “Day Dreams” Stone Rollin

5. Okkervil River “Wake and Be Fine” I Am Very Far

6. Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks” Torches

7. Lana Del Rey “Blue Jeans”

So sexy. This ranks among Jace Everett’s “Bad Things” and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”.

8. Lucinda Williams “Born To Be Loved” Blessed

9. The Decemberists “Down by the Water” The King Is Dead

10. Elbow “With Love” Build a Rocket Boys!

11. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks “No One Is (As I Are Be)” Mirror Traffic

12. Lydia Loveless “Crazy” Indestructible Machine

13. TV on the Radio “Caffeinated Consciousness”

14. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” 21

15. Antietam “Numbered Days” Tenth Life

16. Gentlemen “She Goes”

17. Sin Fang “Bruises”

18. The Idle Hands “Socialite Death Squad” Life Is Beautiful

19. Smith Westerns “Weekend” Dye It Blonde

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 28, 2011

Sentence I Love

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Since I will only quote a sentence, let me set the context for you. There is a new tribute album to Buddy Holly. Greil Marcus despises tribute albums and says this new one helps prove why. The other genre he despises is the remastering and tinkering with the tapes (see the recent issue of Nevermind that Cobain would not have endorsed or the reissue of Pretty Hate Machine that Reznor has sworn off). That being said, check out the venom Marcus uses when he could just say the album is a waste of money. You’ll see why Marcus has always been one of my favorite music critics, I cannot recommend his Lipstick Traces enough.

The contrast between the music as Holly made it and Petty’s successive dubbing sessions — featuring strings, the clueless New mexico band the Fireballs, and nameless hacks — is so stark it suggests not greed but resentment: a producer’s desire to dissolve an artist’s singular intelligence into a product cheesy enough to prove that his music could have been done by anyone, and wasn’t worth doing.

Marcus, Greil. (2011, September.) Real life rock top ten. The Believer, 83, 19-21. 20.

 

 

 

 

August 5, 2011

Axiomatic Living #45: California Uber Alles

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At least once per day listen to “California Uber Alles” by the Dead Kennedys.

I lifted this from Jared Whitcomb, a teenage heart transplant survivor, in The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni.

More and more I am convinced that us Americans are only able to fix a crisis by creating either more crises or a worse crisis. Actually, the recent debt ceiling crisis confirmed this to be true instead of just probably true. It’s an appropriate lesson to be gleaned form the song.

California Uber Alles by Dead Kennedys

 

March 13, 2011

The Beatles v The Rolling Stones: Legal trouble

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image courtesy of buzzgrinder.com

Personally, I have weighed in on the debate many times. Only once on this blog have I even approached the subject. It’s usually a non-starter. I am growing more confident, however, that my preference is also defensible: The Rolling Stones were/are a superior band to The Beatles. This series of posts is merely a collection of arguments in the debate.

“[T]he dark side of this [the drug busts and conviction in 1967] was discovering that we’d become the focal point of a nervous establishment. There’s two ways the authorities can deal with a perceived challenge. One is to absorb and the other is to nail. They had to leave [T]he Beatles alone because they’d already given them medals. We got the nail. It was more serious than I thought. I was in jail because I’d obviously pissed off the authorities.” (Richards 2010, 227)

There is some room for explanation of why this quotation falls within this debate, but only if you do not already have a healthy skepticism of government and the criminal justice system. In which case there is no hope for you.

 

Richards, Keith. (2010). Life. NY: Little, Brown and Company.

 

December 21, 2010

Notecard of Knowledge: susurration

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susurration – a soft murmur; whisper – “By turning his [Jimi Hendrix] amp up high and treading the pedal he found he could modulate the natural hiss of amplifier valves, producing sounds of gentle breezes, howling storms or the susurration of waves on a beach; sounds that are all over “1983” and “Moon Turns the Tide”. (Perry 2007, 30)

One of my favorite debates to be had is Stones v. Beatles.  I prefer to hear music by The Rolling Stones, but I have to side with The Beatles if the question is which band is best?  A silly question, but one that is oft asked if only because it is so much fun to discuss.

In that debate this Perry book can be useful.  Usually, The Beatles win on account of two arguments: 1. Influence and 2. Experiment.  Clearly, The Beatles influenced more bands than The Rolling Stones did.  The Beatles also pushed boundaries more than the Stones.  Perry’s book is about Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Perry talks a lot about the Stones but does not mention The Beatles even once.

If it is true that Hendrix would have been Hendrix in a world sans Beatles but not one in a world sans Stones, then that seriously mitigates the Influence argument in favor of The Beatles.  Even though the Stones were fairly derivative, if they can claim some of Hendrix’s experimentation via proxy then there is also some leeway into the favoring of The Beatles.

I am willing to give some balancing of the registers for the Stones based on this book.  I am not, however, willing to say the registers balance completely or even tip towards the Stones.  If it is true that Hendrix could have been Hendrix without The Beatles, it is doubtful his influences would have existed without The Beatles.  Admittedly, he developed along a different arc, i.e. Little Richard’s band, but it was others influenced by The Beatles that helped pull him away into the scenes of SoHo and London.

If you are interested in a good book about this album then Perry’s is a great choice. Perry also has a really nicely done introduction about Hendrix’s career leading up this album. Perry also journeys into the tracks of the albums and unpacks them exposing the beauty of their composition.

 

November 3, 2010

StoopidNoodle Radio: November

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We are looking into how to stream music over the ‘net.  But the music selection is particular so no one service seems to be good enough.  In any case, in the SN offices we build a playlist and it occured to us to actually release the playlist.  By the way, we highly recommend the Anti-Pop Radio hour over at Colgate.  It airs every Tuesday at 2 PM ET.  The links take you to YouTube; I have tried to make the links go to videos that are not the official videos of the labels and also videos that will not kick in Google ads.

Future of the Left  ”Arming Eritrea”

Snow Patrol  ”Beginning To Get to Me”

Weezer  ”My Name Is Jonas”

Filter  ”Where Do We Go From here?”

Green Day  ”Minority”

The Ramones  ”I Wanna Be Sedated”

Drive-By Truckers  ”Holland, 1945″

Nina Simone  ”Pirate Jenny”

Pixies  ”Tame”

The Submarines  ”You, Me and the Bourgeoisie”

The Beatles  ”Penny Lane”

Elvis Costello & The Attractions  ”Shipbuilding”

The Jesus & Mary Chain  ”April Skies”

N.W.A.  ”Fuck the Police”

Robert Earl Keen  ”Front Porch Song”

Soundgarden  ”Pretty Noose”

U2  ”Zooropa”

Woody Guthrie  ”Union Burial Ground”

 

June 4, 2010

Challenge of Covers

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The Kid, or maybe Santa (who knows which alternate personality is ever actually posting), over at Woodenpickle.org (let’s just say this post was authored by…Buttercup) has decided that my posting of covers was a challenge.  It wasn’t but I am down for it.  Recap: I had posted covers here of a Talking Heads tune and also a Lady Gaga tune.   Buttercup errs a couple of times.

Buttercup dismisses the power of Lissie’s cover because it is of a Lady Gaga tune.  This is not a good argument and I will defend Lady Gaga.  But the real power is in Lissie and not Lady Gaga.

Buttercup then challenges me with a cover of a Britney Spears tune.  This is inconsistent with the previous dismissal.  Plus, I will hold Lady Gaga above Britney anytime, if the contest is about music or affective ability.  Gaga went to Juliard and is an accomplished music writer.  Britney did a decent job, I guess, as a Mouseketeer.

Buttercup throws down the gauntlet not realizing what the weapon of choice is: additive value to the original.

My response, my cover of Buttercup’s post.  Yael’s version of “Toxic” is great.  I prefer to listen to the Lissie track, but not by much.  What do the tracks add to the originals?  That contest is probably a wash, you can track the tie even by the moves of the songs independent of their originals.  Buttercup then posts a remix of Yael’s cover.  This track is better than the original, but also unrecognizable as derivative of “Toxic”.  It’s so far removed I wonder if it even counts as a cover anymore.

Here’s my trump card.  I will not even discuss Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” as that would quickly close off the debate and I am looking forward to Buttercup’s response.  Here are my two entries in the covers contest.  Both are great songs on their own AND they both add significantly to the originals.

“Faith” by Limp Bizkit.  The sound is not as good as it is on the album, but you’ll get the idea.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7CHH6yShbs]

“Blue Monday” by Orgy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAt9QTmVc7Q]

Suck on that Buttercup.

 

May 24, 2010

May 24, 2010 unedited

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It’s hot here.  Not so much hot as humid and sticky.  I was thinking this morning of how to convey just how miserable it is.  Not just miserable, but miserable for Minneapolis especially this early in the year and coming on the heels of last week’s cold.  It is like Dallas summers, not as hot but just as gross.  So gross that I am now inside and most people are just now arriving at their cubicles.  Normally I am gone at the summer gig when the weather makes this turn.

The worms hanging from their invisibles trapeezes even look tired.  When biking you no longer have to worry about the geese, they stay off the pavement it’s too hot.  They do sleep with their wings spread open.  A natural sort of heat sink, I guess.

There’s two new regulars at the Tin Fish in the mornings.  An old woman that bikes in and then straps on rollerskates.  Also, a middle aged man that drops his fishing boat into the lake with skilled aggressiveness.  He plows the truck way back into the water, and slams on the brakes, skidding into the water.  The boat flies off the trailer, he then jams the truck forward and the wench just spools out the chain.  All in all it’s an amazing sight, like watching a gifted gymnast do things you didn’t know the body could do.

To-day’s story was Bradford Tice’s “Missionaries“.  Meh.  The writing was okay, nothing special.  The story seems to gain respect because it is salacious and about Mormons.  It seems overly cynical.  Tice’s comments in the back of the Rushdie anthology even hint at this.  Just like the old European stories about the Ottoman odalisques.

I do recommend you read Sash Frere-Jones’ piece about James Murphy.  Even if you do not know nor care about LCD Soundsystem, this article is sweet.  Frere-Jones definitely knows his craft, even if his sense of taste sometimes leaves me shocked.  The article also provides a wonderful list of other music to check out, which is another criticism I sometimes find with Frere-Jones: he falls back on obscure knowledge as a way of beating the reader into agreement.  He’s that guy at the cocktail party hanging by the punch bowl with the array of statistics making debate impossible.

I am still working on Sam Lipsyte’s The Ask.  It’s a fun book, in the same way Juno was a fun movie.  The story is vanilla.  It’s the voice of the main character that is special.  And vulgar.  And childish.  Scatological.  It’s my friends and I in the French Quarter after the first night.  Do I need to read this book?

Rushdie, Salman, ed.  (2008).  The best American short stories, 2008.  NY: Houghton Mifflin.

 

October 20, 2009

The Beatles

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For something a little more light-hearted:

“Making a Beatles record…requires more than the presence of individual Beatles voices; it requires the potential for at least three-part harmony; it requires Paul’s bass and piano style; it requires George’s lead-guitar style, it requires unusual guitar harmony between George, John and Paul and the peculiar drumming style of Ringo; it requires John tempered by Paul, and Paul darkened by John; all of them spiritualized by George; all of them lightened up by Ringo; all of the excited by Paul; all of them made wary by John.”  Michael Boyce, letter to the editor.  The Believer Magazine, October 09.

But not too light-hearted.  Here we have a new (new?  new to me) method to study music.  In any case, it is well written and beyond my abilities to either confirm or deny.

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